If you’re having a hard time meeting someone of substance through the more popular online routes, perhaps it might be time to give one of these female-founded dating apps a try.
In a post on Medium, “Can Women Build a Better Tinder,” they look into the alternatives out there to male-developed apps and dating sites, like Tinder and OK Cupid.
The idea? Products developed by men tend to approach things from a male perspective when it comes to problem-solving. And therein lies the problem for most women daters — the services out there aren’t in tune with what women are seeking in a dating service.
“A 2013 Pew Research report on online dating found 42 percent of female online daters had been contacted ‘in a way that made them feel harassed or uncomfortable,’ while only 17 percent of men said the same,” Medium reports. “Those bad experiences surely help explain why women use dating technology far less than men do, as data from GlobalWebIndex shows,” referring to the study that reported that “62 percent of all location-based dating app users are male.”
In the wake of the creepers interview Tinder’s CEO gave a UK newspaper this week, a sea of “let’s chill and watch Netflix” posts, and the gawd-awful practice of men sending penis pics (why, yes, it is common), Medium asks if dating apps developed by women can actually make dating better for women.
While nothing is a bull’s-eye shot to romance — we are dealing with the fickle nature of human beings after all — the apps developed by women do seem to be better options in many cases to finding a connection that is about more than eating pizza and having sex.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the apps Medium covers:
Bumble: “Bumble’s landmark feature is that women must take the initiative on all conversations. After getting mutually matched with someone, a woman needs to say ‘hi’ within 24 hours or the connection expires…the women-take-charge philosophy seemed to inspire actual conversation.”
The Catch: In beta, this app “prioritizes the experience of women. Women on The Catch invite men to answer questions they come up with, such as: If you could take a vacation anywhere, where would you go and why? If a guy gets 3 in a row selected as a woman’s favorite, he is deemed the winner and can proceed to messaging.”
Coffee Meets Bagel: These sisters appeared on Shark Tank, turning down Mark Cuban’s offer of $30 million. “The app sends each member one match everyday at noon, the goal was to value quality over quantity.”
The League: In beta with a waitlist, “Aimed at highly educated, career-oriented folks, requires a double verification through both Facebook and LinkedIn…employs an application process that leans heavily on referrals in part to help weed out men who are intimidated by alpha females.”
Siren: Based in Seattle, it is “built to allow female users the option of blurring their photos. They would know the men contacting them were showing interest based on their answers to questions of the day…The woman ultimately picks who gets to see her picture and interact with her.”
Dating Ring: A paid service, you do a brief call with a matchmaker who combs their database and sends you one match per week. After each match, you send feedback, which helps them narrow the search.
Good luck out there and have a pleasant tomorrow.
